IBM executives discussed in emails how to force out older workers and derided them as "Dinobabies"

[Demovictory9]

IBM executives discussed in emails how to force out older workers and derided them as “Dinobabies” who should be made an “Extinct species,” according to a court filing in an age discrimination case against the company.

The communications show “highly incriminating animus” against older employees by officials who at the time were in the company’s “highest ranks,” according to the filing Friday.

The partially redacted filing says the emails surfaced in separate arbitration proceedings but it doesn’t reveal the identities of the company officials or indicate when they were speaking. A judge has ordered the release of versions of the underlying documents.

In one email chain, an International Business Machines Corp. official described a plan to “accelerate change by inviting the ‘dinobabies’ (new species) to leave” and turn them into an “Extinct species,” according to the filing. Company officials also complained about IBM’s “dated maternal workforce” that “must change,” and discussed frustration that IBM had a much lower share of millennials in its workforce than a competitor, but said its share would increase following layoffs, according to the filing.

https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2022-02-12/ibm-age-discrimination-millennial-dinobabies

[multigraincracker]

1. Can we discuss how to

force these executives out.
If I was a share holder, I'd demand it.

[chowder66]

2. It is mind boggling that these assholes think they will never age.

[Ford_Prefect]

3. I.T. was always a haven for this kind of thinking. Anyone not part of the upper management was

sooner or later going to be outdated by events and tech changes. That there could be a attitude like this at IBM now is hardly a surprise. The generation that built the company is retired, bought out, or dead. The flexible thinking that built IBM was hollowed out in the great sell off of the late 90's.

Corporate Tech never has had loyalty to anything but profits, and innovation at the cost of almost anything else, including quality. Although a few companies have nice work environments and it became fashionable in the press to tout the humanizing of the office, most are and have been competitive corporate work sites.

[Tommymac]

14. I'm older and have worked at several Very Large Enterprise Fortune 200/500 Companies since 2000

And all had a large percentage of older employees in the IT workforce.

Especially the mainframe technologies.

And they still do. I'd say over half of my co-workers at my current position at a very large TBF financial institution are over 50. And a third over 60.

IT is no different then any other profession. The older workers being value and experience. And keep things running.

I'm in my mid-60's and plan to work another 5 years at least - I'm healthy and happy.

Took a lower level job to pass on my experience and get out of the stressful upper level positions.

I make less money, but have more time off. Very happy.

[Roy Rolling]

4. Just the Opposite Happened

When IBM purged its most-experienced workers the smart younger employees left. I know one of them, who left for better opportunities. Nobody wants to work for a company that purges its older workers simply because they are old. And the young people who stay, work for a less-ethical company.

IBM is an aging racehorse who thought cutting off its oldest leg will make it lighter and run faster.

[Beakybird]

5. I have two friends that were forced out of IBM before retirement benefits could kick in.

Both friends thought they were being treated like Dinobabies, but they lacked proof.

[TomWilm]

6. In Denmark older IT folks were pressed out ...

... now an update to the train system is delayed by years, since only those fired guys know how to fix it.

[Fyrefox]

7. When experience and loyalty become financial liabilities...

Sadly, it’s not just at IBM that older, experienced workers are covertly harassed and made to feel uncomfortable so that they leave. The underlying agenda is to bring in young people that they can start at the bottom of the salary scale thereby saving the employer money. They may not be able to fire older workers, but through micromanagement and hyper-scrutinization, they can make them uncomfortable enough so that they leave voluntarily. This practice goes on quietly at more places of employment than is commonly realized…

[PatSeg]

9. Yes

This is common in many businesses. Younger employees usually cost them less and they are more malleable, easy to mold into the loyal workers companies want.

Some employers will document any mistakes that the older workers make until they have enough to "legally" fire them. A lot of the write-ups are bogus, but it is the workers word against management and management can afford expensive lawyers. Meanwhile, the terminated employee probably can't even collect unemployment.

[sinkingfeeling]

8. I was forced out of IBM at age 54 and 29+ years with them.

I was lucky because they 'bridged' me to my full pension. Meaning they kept me as an 'employee' for 9 months, but I worked for someone else.

[Wingus Dingus]

11. This sounds like a class-action suit, maybe you can join in.

[sinkingfeeling]

15. We sued: 'Cooper vs. IBM'. Didn't get much in the settlement.

[Wingus Dingus]

16. Ah well, that sucks, but it's stlll good that you followed through.

They have quite the record of litigation now.

[uponit7771]

19. Scanned the suite didn't look like it was for age discrimination overall but just in the pension ...

... I'm not surprised IBM shopped a judge to give them a favorable ruling

[Vinca]

10. Got to dump the older workers before pensions kick in. Meanwhile, back in the CEO suite, the

only discussion is how many millions the boss should get for a raise this year.

[XanaDUer2]

12. Same thing happens in government

Employees have civil service, but they'd prefer, institutional knowledge or not, older workers leave. It's everywhere

[peggysue2]

13. This has been going on for years

What's unusual here is the email trail from the executives.

My husband was lucky enough to make it through until retirement age, but many others are pushed out early so the companies can cut the high earners and replace them with younger, less experienced, lower wage workers.

Ageism is a 'thing' for anyone out there in corporate-land. Hit your fiftieth birthday and you're looking over your shoulder waiting for the ax-man. Experience and know-how means little in today's environment.

All about the share, the look, the money.

[Ford_Prefect]

17. Along with high earnings they also look to lose those with benefits they'd like to pay less for.

In some companies the benefit package is better the longer you are there or the earlier you got vested. A common theme with losing older workers is to drop the company payment schedule on benefits. One reason feeding this is the assumption that older workers might just need some of those benefits and therefore use them and therefore the company would have additional short-term costs in fulfilling the promise inherent in benefits.

All of this is based on an excessively shortsighted view of the cost of keeping older workers on payroll. It disregards the value they may have brought the company during their tenure, along with the value of institutional knowledge they carry including how to manage in a crisis or a specialize customer need.

It is not only younger management who make this error. Some of the worst offenders in management, people who ought to know better and at least have the wisdom to think twice about this are people who themselves might get asked to leave were they not at the top of the heap, or for this quarter at least.